At the Darkness Palace Master's words that he would kill everyone Geom Mugeuk knew, the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign replied.
"You're one of the people he knows too, aren't you?"
As the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign revealed her intent, the Drunken Demon and the Demon Buddha glanced at each other.
The two could tell.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign wanted to fight the Darkness Palace Master.
The Demon Buddha slowly walked and stood before the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress.
It meant that he would protect her, so they could fight without restraint.
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress moved to Ga Ye's side.
Ga Ye silently stared at the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress.
She could tell.
Even here, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress was trying to save her.
Since the Demon Sovereigns would be protecting her anyway, if she stayed close like this, she could survive as a bonus.
‘Why are you trying so hard to save me? I'm the one who led you into a trap.’
She must have read the emotions in her eyes, but the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress only looked at the Darkness Palace Master and the Demon Sovereigns with a worried expression.
The Drunken Demon and the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign stood side by side.
"Let's have another proper fight."
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign was grateful to the two Demon Sovereigns.
No matter how hard she had trained, being young, she lacked real combat experience compared to the other Demon Sovereigns.
Nevertheless, they acknowledged her as a fellow Demon Sovereign.
Even in a fight against the Darkness Palace Master.
She gave a slight nod to the Drunken Demon, and then to the Demon Buddha standing behind.
This journey was becoming the occasion that would establish her as a true Demon Sovereign.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign exhaled slowly, as if blowing out a breath of air.
Whoosh.
Her breath spread into the darkness.
A sound could be heard from her breath.
The sound of a human sigh, a scream of malice, a wail of sorrow, a cackle of laughter—all sorts of human sounds were contained in her breath.
As the silent space filled with the sounds of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, the surrounding air changed.
The Demon Buddha emitted a bright light from his body, illuminating the dark space.
As the darkness faded, the stars also lost their light.
The Drunken Demon unleashed a powerful intoxication, making the night sky drunk.
As the three Demon Sovereigns simultaneously released their auras, the atmosphere of the place changed.
But the Darkness Palace Master, as if to say he was the master of this place, raised his index finger to the sky.
At that moment, the positions of the surrounding stars shifted.
As if to say that since the stars' positions had changed, their own positions must naturally change as well, the energy the Demon Sovereigns had painstakingly altered completely vanished.
They were standing in a different place.
From this one move alone, they could feel how formidable the Darkness Palace Master was in this space.
Of course, the Demon Sovereigns were not the type to be intimidated by that.
"In the previous fight, Soul-Devourer, you watched my back, so this time, I will provide support."
When the Drunken Demon yielded the first attack, the Darkness Palace Master provoked the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign.
"He's putting you forward because he's afraid of dying."
The provocation had no effect on the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign.
Instead, it gave her an opening for a counterattack.
"Are you any better, you who sacrificed countless subordinates just to finally crawl out now?"
Her words were direct and harsh.
She liked to openly curse at her opponents to provoke them.
"You ugly old man. It's time to be punished for not aging gracefully."
The Darkness Palace Master's eyes grew cold.
He had intended to fight elegantly, displaying authority and fear before the Demon Sovereigns.
He had forgotten one thing.
"All you damn Demon Sovereigns are just like him."
"I take that as a compliment."
Flash.
One of the stars floating nearby shone and then fell towards her at a terrifying speed.
Shwiiiiik.
It was a bolt of force with the power to push back the Drunken Demon several steps in the first attack.
Just as the bolt was about to strike her.
Shhhk.
A symbol appeared in the air and swallowed the incoming bolt.
It was the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign's Soul Origin Reversal Technique, which redirected attacks elsewhere.
At the same time, a symbol appeared next to the Darkness Palace Master, and the bolt of force shot out from it.
Boom!
The Darkness Palace Master thrust out his hand and blocked the attack he himself had launched.
His body only shook from the impact; the Darkness Palace Master did not move a single step.
It was a display of how profound his inner energy was.
Shuuuuuuk!
This time, three stars flew at her simultaneously.
A symbol formed in the air again.
But while three stars were flying, there was only one symbol.
Kaa-boom! Boom! Ka-boom!
Three consecutive explosions were heard.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign sent one back, and it was the Drunken Demon and the Demon Buddha who blocked the other two stars.
They each released a palm strike to block the other two attacks.
While using her Soul Origin Reversal Technique, the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign didn't shout for the two Demon Sovereigns to block the other bolts.
She had faith that they would naturally block them, and the Drunken Demon and the Demon Buddha lived up to that faith.
On top of that, the Drunken Demon went a step further.
As soon as he blocked the bolt, he rushed toward the Darkness Palace Master.
When it came to charging, no one could match the Drunken Demon.
In a flash, the Drunken Demon was thrusting his dagger at the Darkness Palace Master.
Hwik.
With the sound of a gust of wind, the distance between the two instantly widened.
The Darkness Palace Master, who had been right in front of him, was now far away, like a mere dot.
The Darkness Palace Master was freely shrinking and expanding the space of this night sky he had created.
The Drunken Demon cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.
"Elder! If you go too far, you'll get lost!"
The Drunken Demon mocked him, but his eyes were cautious.
The move he had just performed was no cheap trick.
He was truly moving as if folding space to travel.
"We have no chance of winning in here. We have to tear our way out."
Everyone agreed with the Demon Buddha's words.
But that was by no means an easy task.
The wall of darkness was incredibly strong, and even if they could break through by combining their strength, the Darkness Palace Master would not just stand by and watch.
Hwirik.
The Darkness Palace Master crossed the space again, approaching to within a dozen steps.
"You can only leave here by dying."
At that very moment, the Darkness Palace Master felt his body become unnatural.
Red threads had somehow bound his arms, shoulders, and legs.
He looked like a puppet controlled by strings.
It was the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign's Soul-String Puppet Technique.
His arms flew up.
One arm up, the other down.
The great Darkness Palace Master was made to look ridiculous.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign didn't use the Soul-String Puppet Technique to humiliate him, nor was she confident she could control him for long.
With her insufficient inner energy, that would be impossible.
The reason she used it nonetheless was because she believed in the intelligence of the one fighting with her.
Indeed, the Drunken Demon was already rushing toward him.
The Drunken Demon, who had gained a great enlightenment in footwork on this mission, showed movement incomparable to before.
The Drunken Demon did not miss this opportunity.
This fleeting moment when he couldn't move his body properly.
Shwiiik.
The Drunken Demon's dagger was already flying toward the Darkness Palace Master's heart.
Pwaak.
Blood splattered into the air.
"Aack!"
The person who screamed was the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress, who had been watching the fight.
Everyone was frozen with shocked expressions.
The blood scattered in the air was the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign's.
The Drunken Demon and the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign were looking at each other.
The dagger had cut the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign's shoulder.
Just before the dagger pierced the heart, the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign and the Darkness Palace Master had switched places.
The Darkness Palace Master stood where the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign had been, looking this way and smiling.
He had used one of his signature martial arts, the Dark Heaven Position-Switching Art.
If he hadn't twisted the dagger's direction at the last moment, it would have pierced her heart, not her shoulder.
In that split second, he had seen not fear but ecstasy in the Darkness Palace Master's eyes, so he had instinctively changed its course.
The Drunken Demon's heart sank.
Truly, it was the first time he had ever encountered such a demonic art.
If he could use this demonic art freely, how could they possibly kill him?
"Soul-Devourer, are you all right?"
"Yes."
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign nodded to the Drunken Demon with an expression that said she was really fine, pressing on the pressure points of her shoulder to stop the bleeding.
The Drunken Demon turned to the Darkness Palace Master and laughed.
"So you were over there? To charge at our own side while drunk! This is why drunkards are no good."
Watching this, Ga Ye spoke softly.
"As long as the Great Annihilation of Greed is active, that man's inner energy is practically limitless."
Her words were heard by everyone.
"Someone from the outside needs to make everyone on this ship disembark and stop the Great Annihilation of Greed. Then, perhaps, there might be a chance of winning."
Now, the Darkness Palace Master didn't even call her a traitor.
It was as if this indifference was the greatest punishment he could inflict on her.
Having said her piece, Ga Ye also stood expressionlessly.
Standing like this, as an enemy to the person she had followed her entire life.
Can a person's fate change so much in a single day? Is it even right for it to change?
While Ga Ye was speaking, another martial art was unleashed.
It was the martial art of the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign, who had just narrowly escaped death.
They were such masters that the martial art was deployed in the blink of an eye.
The area around the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign and the Darkness Palace Master filled with symbols.
They appeared around her, around the Darkness Palace Master, and stretched between them like a path.
The next moment.
Hook.
She was standing before a single door.
Heart‑Soul Direct Connection.
She had used a Soul-Devouring Art that allowed her to enter the opponent's mind directly.
Directly using Soul-Devouring on a master like the Darkness Palace Master was an extremely dangerous attempt.
But her most powerful martial art was, after all, the Soul-Devouring Art that controlled the opponent's mind.
To win this fight, she had no choice.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign opened the door and entered.
It was an empty room.
She entered the next door in that room.
The next room was also empty.
These rooms were places where one could see the memories of the person under the Soul-Devouring Art.
Not just any memories, but the memories of their best moments.
One uses those best moments to control the opponent.
Each time she opened a door and entered, she traveled back in time.
The next room was also empty.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign had performed the Soul-Devouring Art countless times, but this was the first time she had seen such empty rooms.
She passed from his old age to his middle age, and opened the door to his youth.
But even the good memories of his youth were empty.
How can this be?
When she opened the last room like that, a single memory was there.
The image of the Darkness Palace Master as a child, with someone else, could be seen.
Looking up at the person with him, the young Darkness Palace Master was smiling brightly.
The person had their back turned, so she couldn't see who it was from her position.
In his entire life, this was the only pleasant memory in his heart.
The thought occurred to her that perhaps this was the first and last time in his life he had smiled so brightly.
Just as the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign was about to approach to see who the person with their back turned was.
The eyes of the young Darkness Palace Master, who had been looking up at the man, slid over and stared at her.
"!"
It was the first time a figure in a memory had moved voluntarily like this.
The moment an ominous feeling surged, the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign quickly ran back the way she came.
Each time she passed through a room she had come from, the door closed by itself.
Thud! Thud!
She sensed that if she got trapped in a room, she wouldn't be able to escape.
That would mean inner deviation due to the failure of the Soul-Devouring Art.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Closing and closing again.
The moment she, having run at full speed, barely made it out of the last room.
Her eyes snapped open.
Ch-chang.
The symbols connecting the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign and the Darkness Palace Master shattered and broke.
Gulp, she swallowed the blood that surged up from within.
The Soul-Devouring Art had failed.
"Who was that person?"
At the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign's question, the Darkness Palace Master's face twitched.
Was it because of his anger at having his innermost thoughts seen? A powerful dark energy surged from his body.
Seven of the stars in the night sky began to shine.
Northern Dipper Annihilation Calamity.
The seven stars filled the space and rained down on the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign.
Swaaaaaaaaaaaak!
It was an attack with power incomparable to the ones that had flown before.
It flew so wide and fast that there was no room to dodge.
She raised her protective energy to its limit, but it was a situation where she had to brace for an internal wound.
Just then, the Demon Buddha's voice came from behind.
"It's nice and spacious here."
The Demon Buddha's fingers were already forming a hand seal.
Demon Palm Annihilation Seal!
A giant Blood Buddha rose in the middle of the night sky.
The seven incoming bolts of force struck the Blood Buddha.
Boom! Ka-boom! Ka-kwang! Ka-boom! Kwang! Kwang! Ka-boom!
The Blood Buddha blocked all the bolts flying toward the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign with its body.
A giant palm struck down toward the Darkness Palace Master.
Kuwaaaaaang.
Normally, he wouldn't have been able to dodge the Blood Buddha's palm in that space, but the Darkness Palace Master expanded the space and fled far away.
The Drunken Demon decided he couldn't drag this out any longer.
We have to settle this before our inner energy is further depleted.
As the distance widened between them, the Drunken Demon took out the Blood Tears, his signature weapon, from his waist.
It was the first time he had taken out the Blood Tears since boarding the ship.
"Be careful. I get rowdy when I drink."
When he infused his unique inner energy into the gourd-shaped Blood Tears, it vibrated and emitted a pure white light.
The Drunken Demon's signature martial art, the Wine God Art.
The final cup, Drunken Wine God.
The Drunken Demon uncorked the Blood Tears and chugged the wine inside.
A black intoxication began to shimmer from the Drunken Demon's body, and a pure white intoxication flowed from his eyes.
"Ugh, I'm getting drunk!"
The Drunken Demon drew his dagger and swung it in the air, acting out his drunken habits.
"Who's blocking my way! Get out of the way!"
Watching this, the Darkness Palace Master unleashed a new martial art.
"I'll make you even dizzier!"
Dark Heaven Revolving Stars.
This time, the stars on all sides began to revolve around them.
The stars spun as if the sky itself had gone mad.
Hwiiiiiiiiiiii.
It was so dizzying that the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress and Ga Ye collapsed on the spot.
The Drunken Demon, who was about to charge the Darkness Palace Master, staggered and ran in a different direction.
It wasn't just dizziness from the surroundings spinning.
It was because a spiritual turbulence that stole one's sanity raged along with it.
"Am I drunk? Or is the world drunk? The world is spinning out of control!"
He spoke with feigned leisure, but the Drunken Demon's heart was urgent.
He had to get to the fiend before the effect of the Blood Tears, his most powerful move, wore off.
The Demon Buddha put his palms together and calmed his mind, but even so, he couldn't break through this dizziness to attack the Darkness Palace Master.
As the power of the Dark Heaven Revolving Stars intensified, the stars spun even faster.
Amidst it all, the Darkness Palace Master's voice rang out.
"What will kill you is yourselves. It is your arrogance in walking into a trap, knowing it was one."
A black energy began to gather in the Darkness Palace Master's hands.
"I will show the Young Cult Master. Your deaths!"
Just as everyone was too dizzy to keep their wits, there was one exception.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign was pretending to be dizzy, but her eyes were shining sharply.
'How dare you spin the world when I am here?'
The vortex symbol was the mark of the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign.
This very dizziness was what made her stronger.
In this maddening dizziness, she felt tranquility and comfort.
She raised her inner energy to its absolute limit.
She even drew in the energy of the Dark Heaven Revolving Stars and made it her own power.
After gathering that power.
Hook.
Her Soul-Devouring Art was unleashed.
The target of the Soul-Devouring Art was not the Darkness Palace Master.
The target of her Soul-Devouring Art was, surprisingly, the Drunken Demon.
—Do not resist me